


Rock You Like A Hurricane

by Zaxal



Category: Psych
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Pictures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 01:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaxal/pseuds/Zaxal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newly-minted 'psychic' detective Shawn Spencer is put to the test when tasked with finding out who or what is behind the unrelenting rain that's threatening to drown Santa Barbara.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**1985**

It was the middle of summer. A magical time for most eight-year olds, when they could run wild and free with their friends and their imaginations, playing games until the sun began to sink lower and lower, painting the world orange. Most kids his age would be getting sunburns, playing baseball, riding bikes, maybe learning to swim.

Shawn Spencer had known how to swim since before he could remember. He spent so much of his childhood in the water swimming around. He wasn't the best at it, but he didn't need a blow-up floatie, and he didn't need a Pokemon or lifeguard to come to his rescue. He had begun to drown once, mouth open and arms flailing as he tried to both breathe and scream for help. His father's arms wrapped around him, pulling him up onto the tiles surrounding the gym's salt-water pool before demanding to know why he hadn't done a number of things he had been taught to save himself.

He rolled on the tiles now, kicking his feet idly in the air, flip-flop slapping against the bottom of his feet. Most kids would get to run around and play. He was stuck inside, in the Santa Barbara Gym, waiting for his father to finish battling the latest trainer that had come to challenge him.

There were other trainers in the Gym, those training to one day beat his Dad, those who had taken up semi-permanent residence and saw the Gym as the way to better themselves and learn, and the drifters who came through long enough to challenge and succeed before moving quickly onto the next Gym.

Shawn was interested in them most days, wanted to ask all the questions and learn everything about them and their Pokemon that he could. But lately, he'd become annoyed with being kept inside, kept away from the mainland, from his Mom, from Gus. He spent most days in the floating Gym that had been constructed when the first Gym Leader of the Water type had taken up residence in Santa Barbara. Shawn knew it was sometime in the 1960s. He didn't really care all that much, at least not right now.

The water in the pool crashed in large waves, and Shawn knew one of the battlers, not necessarily his father, but one of the other Water trainers, had used Surf. His eyes honed in on some specks in the water, dirt or small rocks, Ground or Rock type, neither of which was particularly smart to use against Water types. He frowned – didn't everybody know that? Soon, the water settled, and when Shawn looked towards the platform where his father battled, he could see a flash of red light as the losing trainer called her Pokemon back.

His Dad crossed his arms, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses as he smiled at his victorious Kingler.

Kingler skittered back and forth, jumped up and down. Shawn grinned. He didn't like spending so much time at the Gym, but there were parts of it that were really good like seeing all of the winning Pokemon celebrate.

Shawn looked out over the Gym, watching without paying attention. He saw the loser slink off towards the PokeCenter, and Shawn braced himself. When his Dad wasn't busy presenting his challenge to other trainers, he was usually focused on Shawn. Teaching him. Preparing him to, someday, step up as Santa Barbara's Gym Leader.

"Close your eyes."

"Dad," Shawn complained though he closed his eyes. He heard his Dad sit next to him, dipping his bare feet into the pool like he usually did when they had these chats here. "I wanna go home and play with Gus."

"You can go home when your mother gets off of work." His Mom always came to the Gym after work, usually to pick up Shawn and take him for a ride on the back of her Lapras either home or out on the open water. Sometimes his Dad came with them. Most of the time, he was too busy to.

"How many Pokemon are in the Gym?"

"13 not including Smasher."

His Dad snorted at the nickname – he personally never nicknamed his Pokemon, but he allowed Shawn to call them whatever he wanted. "How many trainers?"

"Including you?"

"Everyone who has their license."

Shawn had to think, listening to the chatter, the various splashes, trying to imagine things exactly as he'd seen them, no embellishing as his imagination tried to interfere. "Five including you."

"Very good. And what's Bonnie doing?"

His nose crinkled. "Bonnie?" She was one of the Gym regulars, someone who trained Water-type Pokemon that benefited from being the student of a Gym Leader. "She's training that new Squirtle of hers."

"Training?"

"Well, swimming around with it."

"No, you were right the first time. She's training it. Can you tell me how?"

Shawn tried to think. Honestly, he did, but he couldn't remember anything more than the sight of her racing it from one side of the pool and back, teaching it how to swim faster, better, but that wasn't what his Dad was looking for. "Try, Shawn. You can do it."

"I don't know."

"Just guess. It's okay if you get it wrong. I just want you to try."

Shawn concentrated, bringing his fingers up to his temples, rubbing away the extra thoughts and honing in on the ones that mattered, on the images of Bonnie with her face half-submerged, blowing bubbles before using the slight gap between her front teeth to shoot water at her Squirtle. "She's just been blowing bubbles and spitting at it."

"And why is she doing that?"

Shawn shook his head, trying with all his might, but he couldn't find the answer. "Open them." Shawn did, his eyes immediately seeking Bonnie out, but the trainer was still playing around with her Squirtle, oblivious to the fact that the Gym Leader and his son were watching her. "How does a Pokemon learn new moves?"

Shawn whined and kicked his feet. He was tired of being tested today. He just wanted to go play, maybe go meet Bonnie's Squirtle or something. But he knew he couldn't escape the lessons even if he wanted to. That was just the way things were. "Leveling up, TMs, and Hms."

"And?" His Dad prompted.

"And?" Shawn repeated, looking up at him.

"Watch," he ordered, nodding back out to the water. Shawn obeyed.

Bonnie did the teeth trick again, using the gap between her two teeth to spray a stream of water at the Squirtle. Squirtle shook its head before ducking under the water, diving down and then back up again. It circled quickly around Bonnie, moving even faster than it had been that morning. Squirtle leaped into the air and pursed its lips, a strong stream of water shooting out from between its lips before it landed in the water again.

Shawn's eyes narrowed, but before he could ask, his Dad spoke. "Experience, Shawn. A Pokemon that trusts its trainer and wants to learn can pick up a variety of moves through patience and hard work from all members of the team. It's an invaluable skill that most trainers never even think to employ, and it puts them at a severe disadvantage."

"So..." He considered before the pieces fell into place, and he looked sharply up at his Dad. "She just taught it Water Gun?"

His Dad smiled slightly and nodded. Shawn blinked several times and turned his eyes back out to where Squirtle was soaking one of Bonnie's other Pokemon, a Horsea.

Shawn grinned, "That's so _cool_! Can I go play with them? I mean, if we're done?"

His Dad chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Yeah, we're done for now. If she doesn't mind, then you can play. Just don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

"Yeah, Dad. Sure." Shawn beamed and kicked his flip-flops off onto the tiles, pulled off his shirt so that he was only in his swimming trunks, and he jumped into the water with a loud splash.


	2. Chapter 2

**2006**

Shawn thought, under the circumstances, he had done really well for himself. The surprise interrogation had been turned on its head, and the surly detective who had declared him the 'lead suspect' in the robbery case Shawn had called in to help solve in the first place had his arms crossed, jaw clenched, stilled by forces greater than him or Shawn had little doubt he'd already be in handcuffs.

The 'psychic' lie had been like any genius idea, lighting up his mind, inspiring him the way nothing else did. It was one of the greats, one of those that would live in infamy along with the time he'd stolen Henry's steaks and marinated them in pineapple juice. Whether this was a good or bad thing was yet to be discovered, but he had full faith that he'd get the chance to explore it.

To use a fishing metaphor – by far his least favorite for obvious reasons, but it worked, and there was no need to go messing with the classics in times of need – he'd baited the hook with the taillight shards in Bloodthirsty's left boot, cast his line with Dead Grandmother, gotten some nibbles with Big, Clumsy Groom-To-Be's dance lessons, and now, now all he had to do was wait for the perfect time to reel it in.

The answer came in the form of pattering on the window, the rain that had become an annoyance, falling in sheets and sheets upon Santa Barbara for the past four days in spite of all weather reports saying it ought to be bright and sunny. Shawn lurched free of the pack of officers that crowded the entryway to the interrogation room, actually taking a step inside, stumbling towards the table in the center of the room. The conclusions themselves were easy to draw; he didn't doubt that any reasonably competent officers had picked up on it already. "I'm- I'm getting Jennifer Grey? Patrick Swayze? What are you two doing here? And that _lift_ , so majestic, timeless." He imitated the stretch of her body, balanced on a single leg as he spread out, arms stretched to their limit as the toes of his foot pointed back.

" _Dirty Dancing_?" The perky voice of the junior partner of the detective pair piped up.

Shawn hid his grin by falling backward, barely correcting in time to stand up straight again before continuing to ramble as he collapsed dramatically against the wall. "Dancing, dancing, yes, but it's not dirty. Clean-ish dancing, actually. Cold and wet and it just won't stop. 'The Beat Goes On' and on and on and on and on, and it just gets more and more and even more gross outside."

His eyes snapped open, and he looked around the room, at his captive audience, and it was only through sheer force of will that he managed not to grin at his success. "Rain Dance. That's why the weather's been so awful lately without any signs of change even though it's not even supposed to be raining. A bunch of Pokemon are using Rain Dance in the city to keep it raining. It has to be; Rain Dance usually only affects a battlefield or a small area, but it's been raining in the city for what? Four days now? And whoever's doing it has a reason. To cover up criminal activity or flood the city and cause chaos, something."

"What? Don't have that answer?" The older detective crossed his arms, raising a skeptical eyebrow. But Shawn took comfort in the fact that he seemed to be the only one actively resisting his charm.

"The rain's being caused by unnatural forces – it's dampening my psychic receptors." He waved a vague hand near his head.

"Uh-huh," the detective gritted his teeth, venom in his voice. "I'm sure that's it."

"If that's the case, then the city could flood if this keeps going."

"It's impossible. Even if there were Pokemon responsible, they'd already be exhausted and unable to go on and the rain would've let up. It's a meteorological anomaly,."

"Is that what Jackson Hale says?" Shawn couldn't help the condescension, the disbelief in his voice or the utter glee he felt when trying to discredit the senior detective and apparently succeeding by some measure. "I prefer the Channel 5 weather girl myself. Adorable and around 10% more accurate than Channel 8." He grinned widely over at the junior detective before turning a more somber expression to the man. "Am I done here?"

"Not quite." Shawn looked up sharply to see another figure standing in the doorway. From the way the others had formed a slight ring around her, he could guess that she wasn't just another cop. "Come with me, Mr. Spencer." The older cop sputtered, trying to get out a protest, but the sharp glance from her and he went silent, nodding with a grim expression.

Shawn smirked and followed after her, out of the bowels of the station and up into the bullpen where the decent people went about their business while they kept the others locked down below. Pokemon walked freely along with their trainers, their partners in fighting crime. Many of them seemed to be as serious as those who wanted to protect their city. It was disheartening to Shawn who would much rather them be playing around, having fun as opposed to stuck in the rigid structure of police business.

Good thing he wouldn't be sticking around here for long.

"Hey, Chief, where are we going?"

She glanced at him, startled expression quickly brought into line. "My office. And I'm only Interim Chief."

"I'm sure that'll change."

"Eventually, and not necessarily in my favor." She opened the door to her office and nodded towards the opening. "In, and take a seat."

Shawn obeyed, walking into the office and sitting in one of the chairs in front of her desk. He looked around the clutter on her desk, complete with two Pokeballs, currently empty. The Chief whistled, and he heard clamoring behind him. Ever curious, he turned in the chair, looking behind him to see the Chief pulling the door closed after her Nidorina and Kangaskhan stepped through the door.

"You knew my name."

"I know your father. He's done great things for our city." She made her way to her desk, Kangaskhan following and settling on her haunches nearby whereas Nidorina stood between him and the door. Shawn had no intention of testing how good of a security Pokemon Nidorina was.

Shawn settled back in his chair, doing his best to keep his expression from betraying him at the mention of his father. "He never mentioned that his son was psychic."

"You know how he is," Shawn said airily. "Prefers things to be exactly the way he sees them without ever changing. He never accepted my gift. Wouldn't even let me be properly tested." That was the lie that was going to catch him if he didn't sew the hole up quickly. Psychics could be given tests once their gift began to appear, and an undocumented one was rare enough. The child of a Gym Leader being untested if he'd shown any of the early signs? Not a chance.

Not unless that Gym Leader was Henry Spencer.

"He is a stubborn man," the Chief – her nameplate said Karen Vick – said. "I do want to ask you about this... gift of yours. You said you could see several Pokemon performing a Rain Dance?"

"It's either that or we've stepped into an alternate dimension where _Immortal Kyogre_ is a startling and terrifying reality." Vick almost smiled, but it didn't really reach her eyes. Shawn swallowed his nerves and nodded, "It's a Rain Dance, Chief. I know it is."

"How?"

"I can feel it." Shawn leaned forward in his seat, eyes darting to the window where the daylight was smothered by clouds, rain still pounding against the glass. "There are drums in the rain." To make a point, he found a rhythm, his palms beating against his knees, like it was an unstoppable force inside of him. When he spoke next, he made sure it was to the beat he was keeping with his hands, "They're not going to stop. Not until they get what they want. Not until they find their end, whatever it is."

"And can you 'feel' where these Pokemon are?"

Shawn continued drumming quickly, considering. A plan formulated in his head, his hands slapping faster and faster, building tension as he made his decision. If he did this, then they would stop investigating him for the charges they'd brought him in for in the first place. It hadn't taken a genius to notice that the radio shop owner was lying through his teeth. He wasn't guilty, not at all, but that detective had seemed the sort to sink his teeth in and not let go, and his partner was probably too new to fight him on it.

Shawn brought both hands down loudly landing on his knees. He rocked forward, breathing heavily before lifting his head. "I believe I can."

"Then by all means, Mr. Spencer, do it. Keep me updated with your progress. If you can assist us in this, I'd be willing to pay you for your time and effort." The corner of Shawn's mouth tilted up into a smile.

"I'll do my best, Chief." She stood, and he followed suit.

"However, allow me to make myself clear. If you're wasting department time, intentionally misleading us, _lying_? I will prosecute you for hindering a police investigation."

"Even one I started?" The question fell out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Vick smiled sharply, knowingly. "There's an ongoing investigation into this anomaly, Mr. Spencer. You weren't the first person to suggest a Rain Dance, nor are you going to be the only one looking for the source."

"Of course not. Santa Barbara's finest have to protect their city, right?" He grinned though he felt it falter as Vick's expression wavered, like a thought had passed through her head, and Shawn would have given a lot to be able to read her mind in that moment. "We'll find them, Chief."

"I'm sure we will."

Shawn took his dismissal and quickly left her office, walking by her Nidorina who reared up on her haunches, observing him closely, distrustfully as he made his way out. He saw the detectives from earlier, and he couldn't help his cocky smile as he headed for the entrance and from there? He knew exactly where he needed to go.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time he got to Central Coast Pharmaceuticals, he was soaked to the bone, his jacket doing absolutely nothing in the constant flood of water pounding against him. His motorcycle hydroplaned several times, and it was only through deft handling that he'd managed not to crash before he made it to his destination. He parked and walked quickly towards the building, desperate to be out of the rain.

The receptionist was a lovely woman who happened to have a Torkoal sitting near her desk, the steam rising from the ember-filled holes in her shell warming the room and Shawn instantly. He took a moment to crouch near the Pokemon, scratching under her chin.

The Torkoal blew steam at him, radiating so much warmth that Shawn soon felt mostly dry in less than a minute. He patted the warm shell before standing up and turning towards the receptionist. "I really need to talk to Burton Guster. Just a few minutes, in and out. You won't even know I'm here."

She eyed him suspiciously, but Shawn's smile only widened. "I mean it. You can time me, I'll be out in less than ten."

The tension in her shoulders eased and she nodded, "I'm sure that won't be necessary. Go on."

Shawn beamed and clasped his hands, said "Thank you," before taking off from the entrance, down the hallway of offices, headed straight towards Gus's. He could see his best friend through the open doorway, blissfully unaware of Shawn's imminent approach.

He saw the two twitching ears first, and Shawn stopped moving right as a Furret bounded through the door and flung herself at him. "Hey, girl," he laughed as she climbed up his arm, curling around his shoulders and nuzzling affectionately at his face. Grinning, he looked up only to be met with two other unimpressed looks – Gus and his Breloom.

"Shawn, I'm at _work_."

"Oh really? I thought you just hung out in this creepy building all day for fun." Gus's eyes narrowed. Shawn slid into his office, scratching behind Furret's ears. "Look, you're clearly done with your rounds, and I need your help."

"I don't do things blindly with you anymore, Shawn. Experience is a harsh mistress."

"Kinky," Shawn said, considering, smile widening as Gus glared at him again. "All right, fine. Brace yourself."

"Braced," he said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Good. I'm working with the police."

"What?" Gus blinked several times, leaning forward in his chair even as he tried to push his gaze back to the monitor on his desk, to not focus on what his best friend had just revealed. "When you say 'work _with_ ', what, exactly, do you mean?"

"The police think I'm a psychic." Gus looked up at him sharply, mouth open to respond and probably tell him how stupid of an idea that was before Shawn held up his hand to silence him. "Long story way, way, way shortened, I had to lie about where I got the information about a tip I called in, one thing led to another, and now the Chief of Police – okay, Interim Chief, but believe me, she's got all the authority of a regular one – wants me to find the source of the Rain Dance that's making it pour outside."

"First off, just to get it out of the way, no." Shawn stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Second, why do you need my help if you're supposedly 'psychic'?"

"You're my best friend. Why would I leave you out of my fun?" Gus raised an eyebrow, and Shawn sighed dramatically. "Okay, _fine_. I need Scout here to help me find them. I can guess the rough points on the edges of the city where they might be located, but it won't be nearly as difficult if I have her help."

"Scout's staying here. And so is Bell."

Shawn rolled his eyes, "Bellum's going to stay with his designated Central Coast representative. Color me surprised. Shocked, even. What a startling twist." He walked towards Gus's desk, leaning over to brace his hands on it and meeting his best friend's eyes. "What happens if it doesn't stop raining, Gus? Have you thought about that?"

Gus opened his mouth and closed it again quickly. He clearly hadn't. "I mean, the police can comb every inch of the city on their own, probably find who or what they're looking for." Shawn shrugged dismissively, feeling Furret's paws cling to his shoulder to maintain her balance. "Or we can do it. We can do something we've wanted to do since we were kids. Action and adventure and saving the day, dude."

"And you can do all of that. The moment you get your license and some Pokemon of your own."

Shawn exhaled quickly through his nose, frowning. "Gus."

"No, Shawn. I don't want to go trekking all over the city looking for Pokemon that might be worn to the bone just to make some maniacal genius happy as the city floods." With each word, with each realization, Gus's expression fell, clearly falling into the same wavelength with Shawn. "They've been going for _days_."

"They might be taking shifts."

Gus's eyebrows lowered, and he finally shook his head, "No. Changing Pokemon out seamlessly in that kind of cycle would be nearly impossible. We'd have seen some sort of break, and then we would have known what was causing it."

Now that Shawn considered it, Gus's point was right. The rain would have stopped, even for a few minutes, if the chain were broken. But it hadn't. There hadn't been any irregularities in the constant downpour since the start, not in any part of the city, or else the Rain Dance would have been obvious from then on.

He beamed, "See? I need you, Gus. All of you. You and Scout and Bell and maybe the Echo, because it's pouring outside, and as much as I love my bike, I don't really want to die in a fiery motorcycle crash."

"At least the rain would put you out." Shawn pouted again, eyes wide and almost innocent-looking to anyone except those who knew him best. Gus sighed. "Fine, fine. But we stay out of trouble, all right? The moment anything looks fishy, we call the police."

"Fishy might be just the problem we're looking for though."

Gus leveled an unamused look at him, but he pulled the Pokeballs out of his desk, calling both his Breloom and Furret back into their respective balls. "Promise me, Shawn."

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Gus nodded slowly, reaching for his keys on the side of his desk as he clipped the Pokeballs to the holder on his belt. "So. Why do the police think you're psychic?"

Shawn grinned, following him towards the entrance of the building. "You're never gonna believe this. Trust me, even I'm impressed."

Gus rolled his eyes and reached out, shoving Shawn's shoulder and sending him teetering on his feet. "You would be. Come on, spill the beans."

Shawn began to spin his yawn as they stepped out into the relentless rain and headed towards the blue Echo.


	4. Chapter 4

After a few hours of near-pointless searching around the parts of the city where it made the most sense for the Rain Dancing Pokemon to be, they retired to lunch, eating in agitated silence as Gus's Furret and Breloom ate next to the table. Shawn kept sneaking scraps of food beneath the table, letting Furret steal from his fingers before pulling them back up to grab the next bite for himself.

The window that was meant to show the expanse of the ocean and allow a sea breeze to wash over its customers was closed, the shutters even closed to hide the worst of the storm though they did nothing to stifle the pounding of the rain. "We should go talk to him." Shawn huffed in irritation but said nothing, his disapproval painfully obvious to the both of them. "Shawn, he knows-"

"Every Water-type trainer in the city," Shawn interrupted. "And he probably has some form of records of people capable of performing this kind of trick, of being that cruel to their Pokemon. I know. But there's two problems with that theory, Gus. One, he never leaves the Gym anymore."

Gus frowned, "He comes onto the land all the time. He's back to living in the house."

Shawn scowled, erased his line of thought quickly and started again, "Regardless. Even if he knows most of the Water trainers in the city, or most of the trainers, period, we're not looking at a person he's going to know."

"And how could you possibly know that?"

Shawn's smile was too knowing, leftover arrogance from his time spent training to be the next in the line of Spencer Gym Leaders. "Rain Dance boosts Water-type moves. It's a perfect advantage to Henry, and as the city's Gym Leader, you can bet the police will be going to him to look for help soon if they haven't already. If they were planning this beforehand, there's no way they would have let Henry know they were around."

"Unless they didn't know your dad."

Shawn snorted a soft laugh. "Yeah, maybe. It's a long shot."

"More of a long shot than riding around in my car and waiting for Scout to pick up something?"

Shawn rolled his eyes and sulked. The absolute last thing he wanted was to go talk to Henry. "We can figure it out on our own, Gus. We just have to figure out where the sources are most likely coming from." He pushed the stuff on the table out of the way, spreading napkins all over the tabletop except for their plates. Using water dipping from his straw and his memory of the map of Santa Barbara, he created a rough outline of the city. "A Rain Dance only covers a battlefield, right?"

"Unless multiple Pokemon are using it at the same time or there's some kind of amplifier."

"Right." Shawn considered, "Unless it's a Kyogre."

"It's not a Kyogre, Shawn."

"And if it is, we're in a whole lot of trouble."

"Agreed," Gus said, staring at the outline. Shawn made dots for the different landmarks, pointing them out and naming them to give them both some orientation. They stared at the makeshift map, considering. "We're probably looking for an amplifier. Keeping multiple Pokemon going constantly wouldn't be easy, and the more points they used to set it up, the more likely it'd be that they'd be noticed."

"Right," Shawn said, closing his eyes and leaning forward on the table, his hands going to his temples as he thought, brought up the map of Santa Barbara that he had memorized years ago. "A homemade amplifier that would have worked for this long without breaking would be pretty hard to make, right?"

"'Pretty hard' is a bit of an understatement. It would have taken years of trying and perfecting, not to mention calibrating it to work for Santa Barbara's weather and the size of the city."

"So someone really, really smart, yeah?"

A beat of relative silence, broken only by the patter of the rain. "Uh, Shawn?"

"Or resourceful. Who can get their hands on this kind of thing. Who knows the people you'd need to talk to. Didn't think there was much of a black market for genius inventions, but I guess mad scientists aren't _that_ weird, all things considered."

Gus's voice was more quiet, "Shawn, you might want to open your eyes."

"Shhh, Gus, I gotta work my magic."

"Your 'magic', huh, kid?"

"Strange, Gus; I think I hear the ghost of my father. His voice is so faint. It's fine, Dad; we're all good here. You can move on. Have a good time in the afterlife."

A hand swatted his away from his temple, a roughly growled, "Stop it, Shawn," demanding his attention before he could continue his joke any longer. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, dragging them up from the table to Henry who stood nearby, his arms crossed and his mouth twisted into a ground.

"Gus said you were starting to come back on land. Or is all the sky water making this feel more like your natural habitat?"

"Cut the crap. Why are you making a mess like this that someone else is going to have to clean up?" He gestured to the table.

"I thought that was obvious. Because it's someone else's problem and no one ever bothered to teach me manners or common courtesy." He scowled, "We'll clean up before we leave, Dad. Trust me, no one's going to come hunting you down to ask why I'm wrecking all of the restaurants in Santa Barbara." He tilted a false smile up at him. "Now if you'll excuse us, Gus and I have work to do."

Henry didn't budge. "When did you get back to the city?"

"It doesn't matter, all right? It really doesn't. I didn't tell you because I didn't exactly want to talk to you."

"Well, don't mince words, Shawn."

"Believe me," his smile was forced, not wanting to give Henry the satisfaction of seeing past his usual frustration. "I'm not. Don't you have kids to go make cry with your big, nasty Pokemon?"

Henry sneered but didn't dignify him with a response. "Fine. I'll go."

"Well, actually," Gus began, but Shawn kicked him under the table and glared. Gus glared back at him and began to mumble under his breath, but before the full argument could get under way, Henry spoke up.

"It's fine, Gus. If he doesn't want to talk to me, then don't make him." He looked down at the floor where Breloom and Furret were peering up at him. "They look good. You ever battle?"

"Not against you. Not ever."

Henry chuckled, "I always said you were the smart one. Talk to you later, Gus."

In a high-pitched, mocking voice, Shawn mumbled as he walked away, "'Talk to you later, Gus'." He rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's go."

"Aren't you gonna clean this up?"

Shawn sighed, "Yeah, okay, fine. And then we'll go back out and look for the amplifier." They began to wipe down the table, talking quietly between themselves.

"Shouldn't we take that knowledge to the police?"

"Without conclusive evidence?"

"They think you're a psychic."

"And I'd rather keep them thinking that. Getting stuff wrong this early would be bad, bad, bad for business."

"This isn't a business, Shawn," he said before he called Breloom and Furret back to their Pokeballs.

"Not yet," he grinned. "But still. We both want to help, and hey, we could get a little money off of it, that'd be great."

"But most importantly the helping thing."

"And the keeping me out of jail thing?"

Gus peered at him skeptically, "It might be a little too late for that, Shawn. Let's set some easier goals. Walk before we attempt to run."

Shawn pushed out his lower lip in a pout, "Gus!" Gus smirked and palmed his keys, leading them out of the restaurant. Shawn glanced once more to where Henry sat with a burger, contemplating the rain outside, his expression hidden from Shawn's eyes. He sniffed and turned, walking quickly after Gus.


	5. Chapter 5

As darkness fell, they were fairly certain that they wouldn't be able to keep searching. The lack of light made it nearly impossible to see more than several feet in front of the Echo, and Scout wasn't being much help even though they'd told her what to search for. She darted around the interior of the car, ears twitching, but they could only make so many rounds of the same blocks before deciding that this was above them.

Just as they were ready to call it quits for the night, Shawn's phone rang.

"Shawn."

He almost hung up at hearing his father's voice, a visceral reaction made only worse thanks to their interaction earlier. "Well, this certainly is a surprise. When did Gus slip you this number?"

"A few weeks ago, but that's not important. This isn't a social call."

"Oh no?"

"The police have a warrant to search the Gym, but they don't want me to be there when they do. I've been told to sit tight here at the station, answer a few questions, but they can't get to the Gym on a boat, as that hot-headed detective is probably going to figure out in about ten minutes."

"You need me to lead them to it." Silence, and Shawn pumped his fist. "Say it. You need me. Say it."

"I can't reach anyone else."

"I don't care. Say it, Dad. Or you're going to be giving directions to some incompetent uniform over a choppy connection while they try to navigate the labyrinth of bullshit keeping people from getting to the Gym."

There was a deep, heavy sigh before he mumbled, "I need your help."

"You need _me_ ," Shawn helpfully corrected.

"I need you to do this one simple thing for me, Shawn."

"You got it, Dad. I'll respect your last wish as a free man."

"Shaw-!"

He hung up, barking a laugh as he gave instructions to Gus, "Get us down to the dock the police use."

"Was all of that really necessary?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course it was."

Gus rolled his eyes, shook his head, and turned the steering wheel.

\-----

Gus abandoned him on the pier, bravely driving back into the storm to get home and relax for the evening. Shawn hated the way the rain pelted him without relenting or letting up, soaking his hair and flattening it against his head. Out on the water, he saw a yellow light, a halo around a boat that loomed closer by the second, the sounds of a motor pushing it through the churning waters.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?!" Shawn's eyes honed in on the dark shape standing on the deck, tall and lanky. A burst of flame soared by Shawn, fizzling uselessly in front of him and landing with a plop in the water on the far side of the dock. It had given him enough to see the detective who had been aggressively questioning him earlier, and the Growlithe at his feet. A Pidgeot swooped down from the sky and landed on the edge of the boat, ruffling its feathers and sending water spraying over both the detective and the Growlithe. Shawn remembered the guy and his Pokemon as the team that had used his tip to bring down the Back Bay Killer months ago, and he couldn't help but wonder what a surly, uptight guy was doing with an unevolved puppy Pokemon and a Rapidash that he'd thankfully and wisely decided not to unleash on the boat.

"I'm here to help. You'll never get to the Gym, not without me."

"Excuse me, 'psychic', but I think we can find the infamous Santa Barbara Pokemon Gym." The detective sneered down at him as they came in close to the dock. With a gesture of his wrist, he ordered the Pidgeot to hop onto the dock a length of rope in its beak as it pulled the boat in close.

"Then what are you doing back on land? You can't be done investigating already."

The detective shifted uncomfortably before he joined his Pokemon on the dock, tying quick knots to keep the boat from drifting back out. "It's none of your business."

"You couldn't reach it." Shawn said, pulling his hand up to his head, fingers on his temple as he closed his eyes, just to put on a show, "Kept getting turned around. Even the Ampharos you have giving you light – you used the move Flash, right? Very clever, good job to your junior partner. Anyway, even though you tried everything in the book, you couldn't get to it. Couldn't even see it." He pulled his hand down and opened his eyes, blinking up. The detective had walked closer, sneering at him. "And now you're here to ask the Gym Leader for the trick. Well, I know."

"Of course you know. You're his son."

Shawn laughed, "I left Santa Barbara long before Henry decided that only 'worthy' people should be able to visit and challenge the Gym. I had a vision, the path laid clear to me even over these rough waters. It's wrinkly and smells vaguely of prunes."

"You're not a licensed psychic."

"My dad was a jerk and wouldn't allow me to be tested. I'm also not a licensed trainer, but I can tell you what Pokemon you have at your disposal – a Rapidash, including these two – and, as a bonus trick, I can tell that your partner is absolutely dying to let me help you."

The detective looked back at the boat. Shawn peeked around the side of him, unsurprised to see his junior partner, a rain coat pulled tightly around her, her golden hair gleaming in the light from her Ampharos. "Dying?" She asked over the steady beat of the rain, "Not really. Curious, I'll admit." She looked to her partner. "Come on. We can discredit him right now once he fails his own little test."

The detective shifted with a growl, "Fine."

"I mean if you would rather brave it alone again or go ask Henry for help, then I can always go home."

He saw the junior partner's smirk just seconds before he heard the growl behind him. He turned suddenly to see a Persian, soaked from the rain, red eyes glinting in the light as it stalked forward. "No, I don't think you will," she said cheerily. "Come aboard."

Shawn walked with the detective down the dock and stepped gingerly from the somewhat slick boards to the more-slippery and wet deck of the boat. The Persian jumped in after him, rubbing it's head against the woman's side until she scritched behind its big ears. At the front of the boat, he could now more clearly see the Ampharos, its eyes closed as it concentrated on making bright light appear from the bulbs at the end of its tail and on its forehead.

"I didn't manage to get your name before," Shawn began.

With an irritated roll of her eyes, she said, "Det. Juliet O'Hara. And this is my partner-"

"Don't tell him." The detective said as his Pidgeot untied the boat and pushed against the edge of the boat before landing on the deck next to him. He smiled at Shawn, the expression mocking. "He's psychic. He should know."

Shawn thought back to the Back Bay Killer case and smiled back at him, bright even as the relentless rain kept coming down. "Head Detective for the SBPD – Carlton Lassiter."

Lassiter's eyes narrowed, though Shawn didn't miss the slight straightening of his shoulders, the smug thrust of his chest at being recognized. The guy had an ego – okay, he could work with that. "You did your homework."

"Believe me, detective. I have never once nor will I ever do my homework." With a wide grin, he looked towards the uniform aiming the boat out into the water, the black windbreaker pulled up tight to protect his face and body from the worst of the rain as he steered the helm. Out of all of them, Shawn was the only one without the comfort, and it was hard to force himself to keep going when all he wanted was to retreat to his apartment or Gus's, warm up, and dry out.

Even so, he told Lassiter, "Tell your guy to head towards the Gym, but be ready to cut the motor when I tell him."

"Absolutely not."

"Detective O'Hara," he called out, darting from one part of the boat to the next, grabbing a fishing pole and placing bait on the hook, wincing when he pricked his finger with the hook, blood dripping down his hand. "If you wouldn't mind."

She turned to walk to the front of the boat, but Lassiter tried to interrupt her, "Don't-"

"Dude, let it go. I'm trying to help."

"By bleeding all over city property?" Lassiter asked dryly.

"If it helps," Shawn said brightly, picking up the rod and walking close to the Ampharos, looking out over the small waves, the choppy waters made more murky and dark. In the far distance, he could see the dark shape of the Gym looming, a shadow among shadows. His eyes narrowed at the top of the Gym, wondering why on earth the lighthouse wasn't lit to keep people from running into it. His dad had insisted on keeping it lit every night and in bad weather. He doubted it would be so neglected if Henry knew about it.

"All right," he shouted. "This works, cut the motor!"

After a few moments, the motor sputtered, and the boat stopped propelling forward, moving instead with the water. Shawn nudged everyone out of the way to scurry to the front of the boat, the rod in hand. "What are you doing?" Lassiter demanded from behind him.

Shawn didn't bother coming up with something clever, unlatching the hook from the ring in the side of the rod. "What does it look like?" With a swish and flair, he cast the line far out into the water. "I'm fishing."


	6. Chapter 6

After the fifteenth minute of Lassiter arguing with him over what a waste of time he was, he finally brought his fingers to his lips and hissed "Shh. You'll scare the fishes."

"Fish," he snipped angrily, and the Growlithe at his heels growled at him, fire licking out of the corners of its mouth. Shawn made a mental note – it was probably a canine unit for the SBPD that happened to be assigned to Lassiter for the duration of its training. It explained the un-trained hot-headedness, and Shawn really did mean every pun he could think of when it came to not only the Fire-type Pokemon but also the one significant one he could use when it came to the surly detective.

"Fishies, Lassie," he sing-songed and suddenly jolted as the rod almost came loose from his hands. He gripped onto it tightly, his hands protesting as they hadn't held an actual fishing rod for almost twenty years.

A dark shape loomed in the water as Shawn began to reel, the line taut and shuddering with every movement of the fish and water, threatening to snap. Shawn backed off a little, let the Pokemon have its head. It reared up suddenly, and Shawn heard Juliet yell, "Pharoah, use-"

"Stop!" Shawn shouted over her. "Don't attack it!"

The boat rocked violently as the Pokemon pulled. "What the hell is your game, Spencer?" Lassiter yelled over the commotion, but Shawn honed in, mentally drawing a line around the shape, the shadow, his mind scanning the database forced into it of known Pokemon before he knew exactly what it had to be. Who it had to be.

Shawn gulped an lungful of salty air and shouted, "Morrigan!"

The boat rocked a time or two more before the line slowly began to go slack. Shawn reeled it in carefully, leading her back to their little boat. He grinned brightly up as the monstrous face of a Gyarados appeared in the halo of light still being upheld by Juliet's Ampharos. "Hey, girl. Let me get that hook out for you." He patted the side of the boat, and, as the rest of the passengers watched, the Gyarados lowered her head, allowing Shawn to pull the hook neatly from her lip. He patted her head, grinning over at Juliet, Lassiter, and the Growlithe. "See? She's harmless."

"This is one of your Dad's Pokemon?" Juliet asked hesitantly.

Shawn nodded, "One of them, yeah. He lets them loose to patrol the waters around the Gym. They steer all boats away and attempt to take down any Trainers who get too close. Only the people who can outsmart them when they're on their own are allowed to take them on as a team."

"How did you know she'd show up?" Juliet asked, giving him the perfect opportunity that he really couldn't say no to.

"Psychic, remember?" He turned his attention back to the Gyarados, scratching at the base of one of her whiskers until her red eyes seemed to glaze over and she made a sound that Shawn didn't hesitate to call a purr even though it was garbled and ugly to the untrained ear. "Morri, we need to get this boat to the Gym, okay? Henry's orders. Cross my heart, hope to die, I'll stick that hook in my eye if I'm lying."

She headbutted him gently before turning and swimming towards the Gym. Shawn turned finally to look at the detectives and the uniformed officer with a grin. "Follow her. Morrigan will keep the others away and lead us safely to where we need to go."

Juliet turned to speak to the uniformed officer while Lassiter leveled a glare at him. "Don't ever call me 'Lassie' again."

Shawn just smirked, looking out over the water, the dark shape of Gyarados moving against the waves, roaring over the wind, the engine, the never-ending noise of the rain and water lapping against the boat. The shape of the Gym gradually became more defined, the dark lighthouse on top of the intimidating structure. None of the lights came on even as they got close, and Shawn slowly frowned. This wasn't right.

"O'Hara, have Pharoah light it up."

"Wait," Shawn said, holding out a hand. He heard Lassiter make a disgruntled noise, but he was busy trying to think of why the Gym would be so dark, unpowered. A thought bolted through him, and the moment the boat neared the dock, he jumped, running inside, the detectives hot on his heels.

"Stop moving _now_ ," Lassiter snarled, and Shawn heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. His Growlithe growled at him, and when Shawn turned, it was advancing slowly on him, its fur standing on end.

"We need to get to the generator," Shawn said. "I'm sensing something, some thievery most foul." With an unhappy shift, he glanced towards the room, "I'm worried a Pokemon might be hurt."

Lassiter eyed the dark Gym, the pool that now had Gyarados in it as she had swam in from the entrance that linked the pool to the ocean. She peered at all of them, eyes narrowed and whiskers flicking occasionally as if she were having an irritating thought. "What are we looking for?"

"Electric-type. Eelektross. It can usually power the entire Gym by itself with very little effort because there's an amplifier attached to the generator, but I'm not feeling the amplifier here. More towards land. The middle of the city."

"He's going to flood the city to make a utopia for Water-type Pokemon," Lassiter mumbled darkly.

"And Det. Lassiter watched the _Immortal Kyogre_ marathon a few nights ago."

There was a long pause before Juliet demanded, "Did you?"

Another long pause before he grumbled, "There was nothing else on."

"The point is, Henry doesn't want to sink Santa Barbara. Never has. It's his job to protect the city and keep it safe." He scowled, "He hasn't been at the Gym since the rain started." It wasn't really a question; he knew. If Henry had known about the power situation, the police would already know about the amplifier. "Eelektross is definitely going to be hurt or incapacitated or else Henry would have been here to find out why the lighthouse wasn't going at the very least. Eelektross would have fetched him." Decisively, he said, "This way, come on." He gestured to an open archway next to the doors for the changing rooms. He was determinedly making his way along in the dark before he heard Juliet's voice.

"Pharoah, Flash." In an instant, the Ampharos began emitting enough light for them to see.

Lassiter's Growlithe ran in front of him, past Henry's office to the dark room at the end of the hall. Shawn heard the first growl, and he ran harder, pausing only once he made it inside. Ampharos's light behind him cast a long shadow into the room, a lengthy, dark shape pushed along the far wall. Shawn stepped slowly towards it, watching as his red eye swiveled up to look at him, the gaping, toothy maw closing and opening as its arms weakly tugged against the restraints weighing it to the ground.

The light filtered into the room as the detectives walked close. "Stand back," Lassiter said, but Shawn didn't move. A rough hand with long fingers dug into his shoulder, pulled him away, and then Lassiter was crouching next to the Eelektross. "We wear rubber-soled shoes to keep Electric-type attacks from harming us."

"But Lex knows me," Shawn said. "He won't hurt me."

"He's scared. You can't account for that," he touched the heavy cuffs keeping Eelektross pinned. "These are immune to electricity, and brute force may be able to make them open."

"I'm sensing that would be a bad idea," Shawn said, pacing in the small room. "If they crush in, they could break some of his bones. He'll be more hurt than he is."

"Let me," Juliet insisted, a comforting hand on Shawn's arm before she stepped forward. With a wave of her hand, she gestured so her Persian padded forward. Lassiter slowly stood up and away, and Shawn's eyes narrowed, watching. With a long stretch, black claws extended from Persian's paws and she inserted one carefully into the lock of the first cuff until there was an audible click. Eelektross immediately began to lash out, and Juliet rushed forward before Shawn could, her hair standing on end as she cupped the Pokemon's head in her hands. "Easy, boy. Easy, it'll be okay. One more, and we'll get you to your Trainer, all right?"

Trusting that Eelektross was in safe hands, Shawn turned his attention to the generator. Usually, Eelektross would have to use a Thunderbolt attack on the amplifier once or twice a day to power the Gym, a small sacrifice to pay for power and safe passage through the ocean for boats. But, as expected, the generator was missing the mechanical attachment that amplified the power input. Shawn honed in on where the amplifier had been attached, noting that there weren't any jagged edges or lined. Everything was smoothly removed. Whoever had removed it had been very careful and also, and more importantly, knew how.

Eelektross keened, and Shawn looked up to see him struggling up to his full height. "Hey, Lex, buddy. We're gonna get you to the PokeCenter, and then I'll take you to Henry, all right?"

Lassiter sneered, "No, you won't. All Pokemon are confiscated when a person is arrested. Once it's healed, you may as well leave it here."

Shawn's head jerked up. "Excuse me?"

"It's his amplifier that's gone conveniently 'missing'-"

"That makes him a victim, not the perp!" Shawn stepped closer to Eelektross, feeling the hum of electricity as the Pokemon righted itself, raising to its full height.

"Whatever loyalty you may have to your father are clouding your vision, mystic."

Shawn felt a wide, wild smile take over his face. "Loyalty? To Henry? That's laughable, Lassie. Hilarious. I'm busting my gut." On a more serious note, he added, "I have no loyalty to my father. He's an obsessive, selfish, and a massive jerk. It doesn't take a psychic to see that." Eelektross made a low gurgle, and Shawn looked at him. "It's true, Lex. But in this case," he directed back at Lassiter, "he's innocent. I mean, why would he steal his own amplifier? He clearly knows where to obtain one since this Gym used to run on water power before he took over, and using his own would be suspicious."

"So I am supposed to ignore suspicious activity on the grounds that it's suspicious?" Lassiter asked flatly.

"Yes?" Shawn said.

Lassiter chuckled, "Come on, O'Hara. I'll show you how to break a Gym Leader in questioning."

Shawn watched as the detectives and their Pokemon retreated down the hall. He looked at Eelektross and said, "I need your help. We need to find that amplifier and who's really using it, and I think you can help me, Lex. For Henry, all right? Before those two make up reasons to arrest him. I mean, it'd look good in the papers until the rain still didn't stop, and I do _not_ want to be living in the Bad Weather Capitol of the World, you know?" Eelektross tilted his head. "Please? Pretty please, sugar on top and everything?" Slowly, he nodded. Shawn grinned brightly. "Good! You got your Pokeball?"

Eelektross murmured another warbled noise, flicking a Pokeball over with his tail. Shawn picked it up and said, "Lex, return." In a flash of red light, the Pokemon disappeared, his shape folding in on itself until it rested nicely inside the ball. Shawn pushed the small button in the middle in to make the ball even smaller, and he slipped it into his pocket. Turning, he ran to catch up to the detectives, shouting, "Wait! You're my ride back to shore!"


	7. Chapter 7

Bright and early the next morning, Shawn went out into the rain again, this time with Gus, his Furret, and Eelektross all searching the most central point of the city, listening for the hum of machinery or the sound of a Pokemon doing a Rain Dance. Eelektross was able to track down several generators, but none of them were doing more than powering houses or sheds that had lost power thanks to the consistent rain.

Large puddles had formed in the streets, and when they walked, Eelektross slithered beside them, pressed low to the ground, slinking in and out of puddles. However, though they searched, Shawn was disappointed that they hadn't found anything leading them to an answer.

At lunch, they took a break, and the moment Gus had managed to get dried off, he was grabbing his laptop. "How about instead of looking randomly around the city, we actually do some research?"

Shawn sighed, looking at Eelektross's Pokeball. "Probably a better idea. I'm not sure where to start."

Gus chuckled, sitting himself at his kitchen table. "That's what I'm here for, right? You said the amplifier looked like it had been removed by someone who knew what they were doing. So let's research mechanics. Maybe who built it, look for connections."

"But if they could get their greasy mitts on another one, why steal one from the Gym? It doesn't make sense."

"We need someone with more limited resources."

Shawn scrubbed a hand down his face, breathing out and thinking. He knew what Henry would say, the same thing he had said time and time again when he was a kid. He was missing something. He wasn't looking hard enough. Which was an odd statement to make to a man plagued with hyperobservance and an eidetic memory.

Gus was talking as his hands flew over his keyboard, but Shawn drew in on himself, focusing inward on the details and removing any limitations to his thinking that he'd had before. He scowled. The voice in his head that sounded like his father was right. He had been missing something. He had been overlooking the obvious because it was too obvious.

He would never tell Henry or those detectives that they were right. Not even on pain of death. He had a reputation as a maybe-psychic to uphold.

"We need to talk to Gym Trainers. Anyone who's been doing a stint of hanging out at Henry's Gym lately, who would have had access to the power room and the amplifier."

"Shawn, I asked you a question like five minutes ago."

"A lot happens in five minutes, Gus." He got up and walked around behind Gus, ignoring his online poker match to focus on the search engine Gus hastily opened, "The Gym's website. Does it still have blogs from the oldest trainers there? Like testimonials?"

Shortly after the webpage loaded and they found the appropriate link, Gus asked, "Wait, Bonnie and Clyde? Seriously?"

"His real name's Claude. He started going by Clyde when he hit his rocker phase and because Bonnie thought it would be 'cute'. He was starting the slippery slide when the divorce was finalized. Luckily for _Clyde_ , it seems to have stuck." Shawn pointed excitedly to the screen. "Look, it says he was going to start working at the aquarium. If we go now, we can probably make it in time to go see the Lumineons, the Frillish, and the Jellicents."

Gus hesitated, and Shawn finally said innocently, "I heard they got a Tirtouga, too."

His best friend's head snapped up, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "No way."

"Yes way. One of the ones bred from the revived fossils. Dude, it's like _Jurassic Park_ is within our grasp. Only, you know, without vicious Aerodactyls swooping down to pick you up and drop you from crazy high and without the roving packs of ferocious Armaldo."

"You know those movies are full of biological mistakes, Shawn. And now that we're able to revive extinct species, we're finding out more and more of how little research-"

Shawn interrupted, "Do you want to see the ancient, formerly-extinct baby turtle or am I going to the aquarium all by myself?"

Gus hesitated before finally conceding. "We go see the Tirtouga first, no getting sidetracked. Once we've talked to the guy. Of course."

"Of course." Shawn tossed him his keys and started walking for the door.

\-----

Clyde agreed to meet to talk with them. In one of the underground viewing areas to the Tirtouga display, they were able to see it swimming around in its clean water which Gus insisted was nothing like the primordial grime it would be used to in the other timeline. Clyde shrugged, said, "Yeah, but he's a cute little sucker, isn't it?"

"You know, your Dad was gonna talk to the manager about breeding him someday. For the Gym."

"That does not in any way surprise me or interest me," Shawn said, his voice as gentle as he could be for all of his irritation. "Tell me, Clyde – was there anyone starting to go a little nuts? I mean, I know how pressure-filled the Gym could be at times. People probably crack all the time."

"I wouldn't know," he confessed. "I never was much for the water cooler gossip, y'know? I mean, I trained, but other than Bonnie, there wasn't anybody I really sat down and talked with that often. But Bonnie was friends with everybody. She's been that way ever since she came around."

"Was?" Shawn keyed in on the past-tense.

Hesitantly, Clyde clarified, "Henry felt like she wasn't growing in the Gym atmosphere anymore. You know how it gets. Someone hits their peak and refuses to move on, so he banned her."

"Why not let her keep training?" Gus interjected.

Shawn and Clyde both blinked at him and then back at each other. Shawn ventured, "Gus, you remember how Dad was about Scouts right?"

"You mean when he dumped us off in the middle of the woods and made us find our way back to civilization only it turned out he was following us the entire time to one, make sure we wouldn't die and two, in order to make sure that we did everything absolutely right, or we'd have to do more lessons to earn our badges?" Gus frowned. "Yes Shawn, I remember Scouts."

"Yeah, okay, now imagine that you aren't a kid that he likes and instead someone he sees as a representation of the Gym and his own standards."

Gus's eyes widened slightly, "Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh' is right." He looked up to see the Tirtouga treading water in front of the glass, its flippers moving in long, steady strokes, making it bob slightly up and down in the water. "So if Bonnie was kicked out of the Gym for a while, you think she'd go insane and try to drown the city?"

"Bonnie?" Clyde asked skeptically. "No. Bonnie's too nice."

Shawn considered. "Maybe. Still, Bonnie might know of someone who spent too much time in the generator room or lighthouse with Lex. Anyone suspicious." For the sake of his own curiosity, he peered at Clyde, "Has anyone else come by to ask you about the Gym lately?"

"Two detectives," he admitted. "Though they were a lot more accusatory, and this one guy said that I wanted to release all the aquarium Pokemon into the ocean or use them to take over the world or something." He rolled his eyes. "I've got a Gastrodon and a Floatzel as my partners, and this guy thinks I'm some sort of mad scientist?"

"I know, man," Shawn said, watching the Tirtouga as it followed Gus as he moved in front of the glass and waved a flipper when Gus waved first. Gus beamed, and Shawn smiled at his best friend. "I blame movies and television."

"You got that right," Clyde said, but Shawn pushed himself to his feet, walking quickly towards Gus to spend a few moments cooing over the baby Tirtouga himself, grinning widely when it did a flip for the two of them and made a happy, warbled sound that sounded strangely close to a laugh.

\-----

Bonnie's house was relatively close to the ocean, giving her easy access to and from the Gym. Shawn could see it hulking in the distance, the light on top turning in a quick circle. Eelektross had swum over and powered it up early in the morning before coming back to the pier where Shawn waited.

He shivered as the rain pelted him, cold water sliding down his back as he knocked at the door. Gus waited nearby, attention divided between the Echo parked on the street to where Shawn stood beneath the lip of the roof, edging closer to the door to get out of the water. Shawn heard the distinct sound of flip-flops slapping the floor and the bottom of someone's feet before the door opened, revealing a young woman who probably hadn't hit twenty yet.

Shawn gave her a big, wide smile. "Hey, I'm looking for Bonnie. Does she live here?"

The girl gave a bored blink and turned to yell over her shoulder, "Mom! Two weird guys looking for you." After a moment of contemplation, she grabbed a yellow raincoat on the coat hanger next to her and swept out the door, "Gotta run!"

Only a second later, and Bonnie came out of the kitchen. When Shawn thought about it, her daughter had a striking resemblance save for the nose and the streak of purple dyed into her dark brown hair. Bonnie looked Shawn over and almost instantly, her expression warmed. "Does Henry know the prodigal son has returned?"

"Sadly." Shawn's smile faltered. "Heard he kicked you out of the Gym."

She frowned, "Yeah. Said he wanted me to grow up, but honestly, I think he wanted me to come home and take care of Maria. Her grades have been slipping and she's been picked up for shoplifting, her dad's away on business all the time, and I was busy training my new team."

"Not his call to make on how you raise your kid."

"Henry thinks everything is his business."

Shawn's smile strained, "Yeah. He does that. Can we come in? We need to talk to you about some stuff."

"Yeah, sure," She stood aside and gestured for them to come in, closing the door behind them and rolling her eyes when she noticed the rain boots sitting unused behind the door. "That girl's going to catch her death." She looked up at Shawn. "What do you need to talk to me about, Shawn?" She waved them into the living room and sat in a chair opposite the couch as Gus and Shawn gingerly sat down, trying to keep it from getting too wet.

Shawn began to give her the full explanation when Gus elbowed him and while Shawn petulantly glared, Gus stepped smoothly in. "Something was stolen from the Gym, and Henry asked us to track it down for him. We think it might've been one of the Gym trainers – do you know anyone who might've had motive for such a heinous crime?"

Shawn leaned close to his friend and whispered, "Quit trying to impress her – she used to babysit me, dude. It's weird. Plus she's married."

Gus elbowed him again as Bonnie considered. "Off the top of my head, no. I was the first person Henry kicked out in a while. Clyde – Claude – he left because he wanted to. He knew it was his time. Same thing a long ways back."

"Before that?" Shawn asked.

Bonnie thought. "You remember the new guy that came around right before you left?"

Shawn nodded, "Yeah. Big jerk, built like a Machamp."

Bonnie laughed, "Darren. Yeah, Henry booted him maybe a year after you left. He threw a fit. He thought he'd be the one to take Henry's place when he was ready to retire. He was super aggressive and alpha male all the time and was always causing fights. So Henry told him to hit the road."

"And he's still around here?"

"Still thinks he's the best choice to fill in Henry's shoes, so yeah. He's like a beach bully, wanders during the busy hours looking for trainers to 'win' against when he's extremely overpowered in comparison. I think he literally makes children cry."

Shawn's smile tilted bright and wide on his face, "Sounds like someone we need to go check out. Anyone else?"

"Not that I can think of. But I could always be wrong." They exchanged phone numbers, and she gave him Darren's approximate address, and soon, Shawn and Gus were in the rain again.


	8. Chapter 8

A legitimate storm bloomed in the center of the man-made facsimile. The rain came down harder, wind lashing at anyone stupid enough to brave the maelstrom (Gus's word, not Shawn's). The streets were even more difficult to rive through, the Echo's windshield wipers working overtime, but every sheet of water they pushed away, another covered it almost instantly.

"We're going to die," Gus decided when they were too far from either of their apartments to justify halting the trip towards Darren's last known location. "Even if we survive the storm, and we won't, what exactly are we going to do when we get there? If he wants to battle, we'll lose. You're not a licensed trainer, and neither of my Pokemon-"

"Don't be so fussy, Gussy."

"Shawn, I swear to God-"

"Hear me out," Shawn interrupted him. "Look, this guy's a Water-type trainer right? You have Bellum – he's Grass and Fighting – and I have Lex Luthor the Electric eel."

"Who won't obey you in battle because one, he's not your Pokemon, and two, you don't have a license! And Bell doesn't fight."

"A Fighting Pokemon who doesn't fight," Shawn repeated flatly. "Next thing you'll tell me is that he doesn't photosynthesize properly."

There was a silence too long for him to be comfortable with before Gus spoke up, the steering wheel in a decided death grip. "He has a condition."

"Gus! You coddle him and Scout too much, but I guarantee they can fight. If we have to, which I mean, isn't ideal." Shawn tilted his head, thought about it, and pulled out his cellphone to call the police station, phoning in a helpful tip about the possible location of the amplifier. After he hung up, he closed the cellphone with a clap. "That should get us some help. Eventually." Gus glared at him out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to the road.

\-----

They ducked under the awning of Darren's apartment building, a renovated motel that allowed them easy access to each individual room. Shawn knocked at Darren's several times before crossing his arms, shifting from foot to foot to try and warm the chill that froze his bones. Shawn scowled at the lack of an answer, and it only deepened as Gus asked, "So what do we do now?"

Shawn considered, shivering. "We could wait for Darren to get back. Or have Scout take a look around; see what she can find."

Reluctantly, Gus pulled Furret's Pokeball from his belt, releasing the brown and tan Pokemon. "Do you hear any weird sounds, Scout? Machinery maybe?"

Furret scuttled around the floor in a figure eight for a moment, ears twitching this way and that before she stood up on her hind paws, ears twitching, her body bouncing to a rhythm Shawn couldn't hear. "Go on, Scout. What do you hear?" She chittered and squeaked before running towards the end of the balcony, climbing on top of the metal railing and peering over the tall wall that used to house a swimming pool.

They followed her quickly, and the closer they got, Shawn was absolutely certain that he could hear [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAHHFc-gIeI). He gripped the rain-wet railing, fingers curling around the chipped metal as he peered below. Five Pokemon diligently danced in a circle around a boombox that had the amplifier attached, enthusiastic even though they'd been at it for days.

The hulking mass that could only be Darren stood nearby, arms crossed as he watched the Pokemon bob and sway to the music.

"They have to be getting tired," Gus murmured, and Shawn could hear the worry in his voice.

"They are, but they'll never show it. Ludicolos are renowned for their ability to be optimistic and energized regardless of the conditions they find themselves in. With the right music, they'll dance themselves to death." His eyes narrowed at Darren who was watching them all with a disdain that had Shawn sneering. "I don't like it. They can't help but be cheery!"

"We should wait for backup," Gus said just seconds before Shawn shouted.

"Hey, fishbreath!" Darren looked up sharply at them, and Shawn began to walk down the nearby stairs to the pool area, clapping condescendingly slow. "Good job, Darren. I mean it; real good job. Torturing these poor Pokemon. I mean, look at them. They're miserable."

The Ludicolos continued dancing, water sloshing about in their lilypad hats, hands moving with their bodies to the rhythm of the music.

Shawn scowled, the wind from the storm stinging his eyes and face, rain pelting into him. He pulled Eelektross's Pokeball from his pocket, clicking the button in the middle to make the ball fill his palm. His eyes narrowed at Darren whose own hand had gone to his belt until he had a Pokeball prepared himself. "You're Henry's brat."

"I'm Henry's heir," he said just to see the bigger man prickle, his jaw clenched as his free hand gripped into a tight fist. "So what with him being detained by some questionable members of Santa Barbara's finest, it falls to me to stop you."

"And your friend?"

Shawn looked over his shoulder to see Gus standing just outside of the rain, Furret's fur standing on end as she waited by his side. Shawn looked back to Darren. "Gus? He's my ride home. Let me tell you, man, these are less than optimal conditions for riding a motorcycle."

"Tell me about it," he scowled, gestured himself to the motorcycle sitting not too far away.

Shawn blinked for a moment, stunned out of his routine. "Uh. You're the one orchestrating all of this, right? Like, you're the one who stole the amplifier? From the Gym?"

"What?" Darren asked, taken aback himself. "Nobody told me it was stolen!"

"Boys," drawled a bored voice from behind him, and Shawn turned to discover, to his horror, he'd been rounded upon. He recognized the girl instantly from her yellow raincoat, flip-flops, and the purple streak in her dark hair. Bonnie's daughter Maria. She currently had Gus backed against the wall, two Pokemon standing between him and Shawn. The Seadra bristled at Furret, eyes resolutely focused on her. The Blastoise was more worrying, the immense cannons jutting out of his shell pointed directly at his best friend.

"You always get in the way."

Shawn couldn't look at anyone besides Gus. A full-blown Hydro Pump at that distance could severely injure him and that was if she didn't aim for his mouth, to drown him while he was pinned helplessly to the nasty wall. "Maria, don't do anything too hasty, okay?"

"Shut up."

"Look, okay, like I was telling Darren here, Gus is just my ride. He has nothing to do with this, okay? He came here following my hunch, my psychic vision." Maria turned her head, sharply looking at him.

"You're not psychic."

"I am," Shawn insisted, heat in his voice. "I'm so psychic, you'd never believe it. You don't though, do you."

"Darren, shut him up."

Shawn heard the sound of two Pokemon unleashing, couldn't turn quick enough before a Poliwrath gripped his hands and a Garchomp's razor-sharp fin rested against his throat.

"You want proof," he continued as if he weren't suddenly in as much danger as Gus. "I mean, that's fair, what's a psychic if they can't prove themselves to you? Well, let me prove it to you. Right quick. And if I'm wrong, then Darren can shut me up however he pleases, all right? Here's how you know I'm psychic." Shawn heard the distinct sound of hinges squeaking and smiled, "We are not alone."


	9. Chapter 9

Several things happened all at once. Shawn pressed the button on Eelektross's Pokeball, releasing the Pokemon out into the arena as Garchomp was hauled back, a Pidgeot's claws lodged in its shoulder as it threw it back with a loud, angry screech. A bolt of electricity shot through the wind and rain, landing a firm his on Blastoise. The moment it turned away from Gus to focus on Ampharos, he threw his own Pokeball, releasing Breloom who ran into the Seadra, seeds flying from its mouth in quick succession and making the Water-type Pokemon retreat.

"Lassiter, focus on Garchomp!" Shawn shouted above the din as Eelektross tackled the Poliwrath to the ground, gaping maw pressed over the black and white, hypnotic spiral on its body. "Lex, Thunder Wave; he's no good if he can't move." Eelektross promptly ignored him.

Lassiter and Juliet brought their guns up, screaming orders both to the perps and their Pokemon. Gus was giving stern orders to Breloom, handling his first real battle since childhood with the grace and dignity Shawn knew he could rely on.

Shawn looked at the Ludicolos who were still absorbed in their dance, twisting and dancing, grinning as well as they could with their beaks. He ran through a gap in two of them to the mound of cement that hid the pool away forever, slamming a hand down on the Power button of the stereo. The music abruptly stopped, but Shawn could still hear the whir of the amplifier, and the Ludicolos were still keeping time with the now silent rhythm.

Shawn was attempting to watch their movements when a blast of water caught him off his guard, sent him sprawling onto the ground, now thoroughly soaked to the bone. Maria approached, her Blastoise at her side, cannons working to refill themselves with water. Shawn sputtered and coughed, attempting to drag himself to his feet. "Your Dad took the thing my Mom loved most, away from her. How fitting is it that my revenge should end the same way?"

Shawn forced a laugh, grinning widely up at her. "Henry doesn't love me. You'd be doing him a favor. I can't disappoint him if I'm dead." He coughed up more water, wiping the spit and bile away with the back of his hand. "Unless you meant the leadership of the Gym, in which case, yeah, you're doing a great job of that." He sucked in air, hoping to prevent himself from drowning when the inevitable happened.

Then, over the other noise, the slap of the Ludicolos' feet and the ongoing battle, he heard, "Bellum, use Headbutt!"

Shawn stepped to the side as the Breloom propelled himself into the Blastoise, sending the larger Pokemon sprawling past him. He dodged Maria as she made a grab for him, running back to the group of Ludicolo.

"Pidgeot, take them out."

"No, Lassie, wait!" He stepped between the large bird and the dancing Pokemon, "They don't know any better. Go cuff the mean lady, I got this."

"You 'got' this?" He repeated, skepticism dripping from his tone.

"Yeah." Shawn looked up at the churning clouds overhead, wincing as rain pelted him in the face, his eyes. He closed them, clamped them closed, playing the Ludicolos' dance in his head, the memorized order of their movements. "Get everyone out of the way," he yelled over the strain of his throat, sore as it was from the raw force of the Hydro Pump hitting him.

He began to move counter-clockwise, wiggling, bobbing, twisting, keeping a careful rhythm with the music that had long since faded. He slowly segued into a quicker pace, moving, his eyes closed, trusting his sense of spatial reasoning and his perfect memory to keep from falling, to keep him moving perfectly against the ring of Ludicolos.

"It's not enough!" Shawn said, a rumble of thunder making him hesitate for only a moment before he moved quickly on. "The spirits are saying we need more to get this to work. We need, we need, just, more of a beat, you know; something that might urge them to switch to what I'm doing!"

"Music," Gus shouted.

"Yes! Music! Someone hit the box; let's make it happen!" He cracked an eye open, looking right at Gus with a wide smirk. "Scout!"

He closed his eye as the Furret ran forward and hit the Power button and the music started again. Shawn danced to the beat, moving quickly and hoping, hoping that it would work. For the sake of it, he began to think of the sun, of bright, warm days, the summers of his childhood.

He heard a happy squawk and then the sound of the Ludicolos moving in rhythm again, but it wasn't until he heard Juliet murmur, "Oh my god, it's working," that he allowed himself to grin.

"Of course it's working," he said brightly. "The spirits said it would."

"'Spirits'," Lassiter scoffed. Shawn's grin widened; even as he grumped, he couldn't hide the sheer awe in his voice.

The rain stopped pelting them, and when Shawn's eyes opened, he saw the Ludicolos moving in the pattern he'd created. The clouds still churned, dark and angry, waiting for the group below to give in so they could take over again, but Shawn had just one thing to say to them. "Ludicolos, use Sunny Day."

The dancing intensified, light gathering around them before it shot into the amplifier and up into the sky, parting the clouds and allowing the sun to shine bright and hot down on them. Shawn took the chance to overlook the battle scene. Lassiter and Juliet had Darren and Maria cuffed, their Pokeballs put into special containment units to keep the Pokemon inside until they could be transferred to a facility safely and securely. Gus was checking up on Breloom who looked about right for a Pokemon who had just had their first battle. Furret was hopping along from one Ludicolo to the next, imitating the dance and chittering happily at them all.

Darren was glaring at Maria who was glaring at Shawn like she could blow him apart with her mind. He smirked at her and waggled his fingers in a little wave before realizing that someone was missing from his head count.

He found Eelektross laying not far from the crowd, his long form marred by cuts and bite-marks that matched Garchomp's maw. "Lex, buddy." He knelt next to Henry's Pokemon, wincing at the wounds. "A few days at a PokeCenter will fix you right up. But for now, I need to get you back to Henry. You'd like that, right? Going home to Henry, and then he can take care of you."

Eelektross slowly nodded with a warble and returned to his Pokeball in a flash of red light. Shawn shrunk it and put it into his pocket before being suddenly mobbed by the five Ludicolos, all swaying and chattering around him. Shawn laughed, "Good job, guys. You learned a new move."

They began jumping, bouncing around him, and Shawn grinned widely until four of them vanished, similarly called back into their Pokeballs and sealed into the containment units. "There's only four Pokeballs," Lassiter announced. "That one's probably wild. Felt the music or something and got called in. We'll take him into temporary custody and release him."

Shawn frowned, looking down at the Ludicolo who was still happily bouncing around. "He's got to be exhausted. He needs someone to look out after him. Just for a few days." He looked up, feeling lost until his eyes settled on Gus. "Hey, Gus; would you mind?"

"Shawn, I- I don't think I can. Bellum and Scout are going to need me for a while, and I don't have time to introduce a crazy wildcard into the mix right now." He frowned, "Not even for a little bit."

Juliet said hesitantly, "Shawn, it's fine. He'll be all right, I mean, look at him."

"I am looking. He's gonna keep pushing himself until the end, until he can't anymore, and it's going to get him killed. He needs to rest someplace quiet, without loud music, with someone who gets him."

Lassiter snorted, "Then take him in yourself. If you're responsible enough. Except, oh wait, you don't even have a license. This isn't up for negotiation, Spencer. The fact that you battled, unlicensed, with that Eelektross is already going to earn you a hefty fine."

Shawn looked imploringly at Gus who sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "Just for a few days."

"Of course," Shawn said, beaming as Gus took a Pokeball out of his back pocket and held it out to the Ludicolo. The Pokemon considered it for a moment before his hand reached out to touch the Pokeball. A flash of red light, and the ball shook several times in Gus's hand before settling.

Immediately, he turned his attention back to the detectives and their baddies, clapping his hands together and summarizing. "So that is a lot of problems solved in a very short amount of time which is impressive even for someone with my abilities. I'm going to take Lex and the amplifier back to Henry-"

"The stereo and the amplifier are evidence," Lassiter cut in.

Shawn rolled his eyes, "Fine. I'm taking Lex back to Henry, who I'm assuming is still at the station-"

"We had to release him."

"Oh good. So I'll hunt Henry down, give him Lex, make sure he's all taken care of, and then I'll be by for that check the Chief promised me for my help." He made another item on his to-do list before grinning at the detectives. "Tell her we'll be by to say hi, will you?"

He almost turned to leave before a thought hit him, and he turned abruptly back, walking to where Maria was being held, Juliet's hand gripping her handcuffed hands tightly. "For the record. Bonnie was more than content to come home with you. She knew Henry would give her a place back at the Gym when she was ready. This? This is going to tear her up big time in comparison to losing her spot in he Gym."

"Yeah, right. I'll be taking Being-A-Good-Child lessons from someone who didn't run away from home without any regard for the feelings of their parent."

Shawn's smile tightened at the corners, almost painful to keep projecting onto his face. "At least I'm not going to an institution."

"Not yet," Lassiter grumbled and began to lead Darren away, the stereo's handle gripped in his free hand. Juliet and Maria followed not far after them.

Alone with Gus and his Pokemon, Shawn said, "I told you they could do it." He smiled at his friend, "Knew you could."

"She could have..." Gus shook his head.

"I know, Gus. You, too." They began walking away from the former pool, their feet occasionally landing with quiet splashes in shallow puddles. "Man, that was so kick-ass the way you handled that Blastoise though. I gotta hand it to you."

Gus thumbed his nose with a modest smile. "It was pretty cool, if I do say so myself."


	10. Chapter 10

A day later, and the sun was shining. People were outside, reveling in the warm, rain-free days, crowding the streets, the boardwalk, which Shawn oversaw with a smile. Like looking over his new domain, and far in the distance, he could see the hulking form of the Gym looking a lot less sinister without the literal dark clouds looming over the city.

He was sitting on the bench on the nearby sidewalk when Gus pulled up in the Echo, looking perplexed as he stepped out of the car. Shawn grinned and gestured to the window behind him. "You like?"

"'Psych'?" Gus looked between him and the window, and right as Shawn saw understanding dawn on Gus's face, he pushed himself to his feet. "Shawn, no. Absolutely not."

"Hear me out, okay? Think about all the good we did, right? Remember how much fun it was? And we got to save the day – we're going to get our pictures taken in like an hour with the Chief, and we get to be interviewed. And come on, man, won't it be cool?"

"Shawn," Gus said, his patience thinning, "tell me, simply, what this is meant to be."

"Our new psychic detective agency." Gus glared at him. "Dude, come _on_. You saw that check from the Chief, right? I figure we only have to do a few days of work, we set the hours, we pick and choose our cases, we get stuff _done_ , son."

"What about a license?" Shawn held up a card and tossed it to Gus who fumbled with it before looking at it. "A private investigator's license, genius."

"Psychics are exempt."

"And it's fraud if you're not psychic. And you don't have a license for that either."

"I can get one."

"Can you. So if we do the standard tests, you know, knock a pile of blocks over with your mind, bend a spoon without touching it, tell me the shape on the cards without having seen them – you'll just ace all of those, right?"

Shawn hesitated. "That. Might be harder than I thought."

"They'll want one of those licenses or the other, Shawn. Not this, whatever it's-" He looked down at the card in his hand again, and Shawn's grin widened as Gus's eyes grew larger, rounder, looking over the card again and again. "This is- Shawn-"

"Yeah," he laughed.

"You got your trainer's license!"

"For the first time since it expired when I was sixteen."

"I mean, that's a big thing, Shawn. Like. Huge. And not that I'm disrespecting you or anything, but I thought you were 100% against being, you know, a trainer of any kind."

"I was," Shawn said, shifting slightly from foot to foot. "But you were right. Lex didn't listen to me at the fight at all, and he got hurt for it. And- And I can't help but wonder if maybe, maybe, it wouldn't be worth trying. If I could find the right partner."

Gus put his hands on his hips, "I'm not doing the psychic detective thing with you, Shawn."

"Sure you are," he said confidently. "But that's not what I'm talking about. You held onto Ludicolo for me, right?" Gus nodded. "Can I speak to him, please?"

Gus let the Ludicolo out of his ball, and within seconds, he had bounced over to Shawn's side, happily squealing, "Coooooolo!"

Shawn grinned and knelt down so that he was eye-level with the Pokemon. "Would you want to be my Pokemon, buddy?"

Ludicolo considered, for a moment its cheerful demeanor shifting into serious concentration before its eyes snapped back open wide and it nodded quickly, practically singing "Colocolocolocolo!" Shawn laughed and looked up at Gus who was watching the two of them carefully.

"I suppose," he began tentatively, "you could do a lot worse."

"You talking to me or Kappa?"

"Kappa," Gus repeated.

"Kap. Could be Kaptain or a weird sea monster. We'll never know."

Gus gave a long-suffering sigh and held out his hand, holding both Shawn's license and Ludicolo's Pokeball. "All right. Kap it is."

"Awesome," Shawn said, beaming. "And Psych?"

Gus looked up at the window, considering with narrowed eyes and various tilts of his head. "Well, you already painted it on there, so I don't think I get much of a say in the name."

"But you'll do it. Or, you know, at least help me on my next case."

"Next case?" Gus asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"The Chief promised to give us the details after our little photoshoot." Shawn grinned. "Just a quick picture for the adoring public, and then we're on to the next adventure. But from what I can gather from the great beyond," he held his hands up to his temples, waggling his fingers as he concentrated, "we're looking at your classic locked-room mystery."

"Really?"

Shawn's smile brightened, "Have I sold you on it yet? Or do I need to tell you the victim was some old rich guy who's famous for writing mystery novels set in Santa Barbara?"

"Oh my god. That's our next case?"

Shawn beamed, "Looks like it."

"But just this one. And then I'm done, swearing off this psychic detective business forever."

"Of course, Gus." Shawn watched his friend's retreating back as he headed towards the Echo before glancing down at Ludicolo, "He says stuff like that, but he doesn't mean it. Not really." With a wide smile, he looked back out over the sunny pier and boardwalk, feeling something settle inside him for the first time in a long time. "Come on, Kap." He began walking after Gus, Ludicolo waddling determinedly at his side. After a final glance at his new, shiny trainer license, he tucked it back in his wallet. "I'll introduce you to the joys of pineapple whip."

"I know you didn't just say the P. W. word," Gus said as Shawn slid into the car after calling Ludicolo back to his Pokeball.

Shawn smirked, "I so did. The stand is just a few blocks down."

"Please tell me that was not the only reason you had for where our office is."

Shawn's smile faltered. "Not the only reason. I mean, there's also Jamba Juice, jerk chicken, churros, tacos, all sorts of-"

"Food."

"Where do people go, Gus? Where the food is."

Gus shook his head, started the engine, and backed out of his parking space, and Shawn watched with pride as the sun flashed across the large window facing the street, the word Psych painted neatly, waiting for them to fill it up with stuff, history, and memories the way only they would be able to.

**Author's Note:**

> Pokemon sprites are by Nintendo. Trainer sprite are also Nintendo's but all were edited to some extent by me.
> 
> I mention a movie franchise called _Immortal Kyogre_ a few times which I envision to be a big monster movie that's been recreated or inspired multiple other works over a span of many years much like _Godzilla_.


End file.
